Amid the economic crisis that impoverishes them day after day, Lebanese have fled in record numbers. They try to cross the relentless sea towards Europe, accepting the risk of sinking in the Mediterranean in exchange for the possibility of escaping the country’s shipwreck.
According to UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency, at least 1,826 people tried to escape the country from January to August this year. This number represents an increase of 73% compared to the same period in 2021, when 1,058 passengers were registered.
The numbers include not only Lebanese citizens, but also Syrians and Palestinians who live in the country and face the same economic hardships.
“These are desperate journeys made by people who see no way to survive in Lebanon as the socio-economic situation continues to worsen,” says Dalal Harb, a spokesman for UNHCR. The main reasons cited by the migrants interviewed by the agency include lack of access to basic services and lack of jobs. They also seek to meet with family members or acquaintances who already live in the destination countries – today, most of them try to reach Cyprus.
On August 30, the Lebanese authorities announced that they had intercepted two vessels leaving the country. It is a recurrent news in Lebanon since the beginning of the crisis. According to the government, human traffickers charge the equivalent of R$20,000 for crossing the Mediterranean.
In a survey with data mined since the mid-19th century, the World Bank states that Lebanon is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in the world. The situation is more serious than during the 1975-1990 civil war. Real GDP per capita fell by 37% from 2018 to 2021. The currency has lost more than 90% of its value, devastating savings. More than three quarters of the inhabitants live in poverty.
The fault lies with a corrupt political class that has sunk the country into debt for decades, analysts say. Lebanon had been borrowing to pay off loans — in short, a pyramid scheme — and the situation came to a head in 2019, leading to convulsive street protests.
The Covid-19 crisis has further aggravated the situation. It couldn’t get any worse, until an explosion in the port of Beirut devastated entire swathes of the city in August 2020, killing 218 people and leaving billions of dollars in damage. Caused by negligence, the accident destroyed grain stores, aggravating the famine.
The Lebanese currently have sporadic access to electricity, fuel and water. There is also a lack of medicines in the country, which screams in the dark for some help.
Such is the desperation that, in August, a gunman entered the Federal Bank of Lebanon and took hostages. He demanded the right to withdraw the money from his own account, frozen by the government, which only allows the withdrawal of the equivalent of R$ 2,000 per month, to stop the bleeding. He was received as a hero by the population and then the bank dropped the complaint against him.
This is the scenario that makes Lebanese believe that it is worth crossing the Mediterranean. But the impromptu sea voyage comes at a perverse cost. In April, a boat carrying 84 migrants sank in the Mediterranean. About 40 of them have not been officially found to this day. In June, a boat with 60 refugees bound for Italy was about to sink when it was rescued.
Lebanese officials say the country, whose government is crumbling, is no longer able to stop refugees from leaving. The message worries Europe, a continent that for a decade has received waves of Middle Eastern immigrants — and where xenophobia has grown.
Lebanon is home to a vast refugee population. There are at least 1.5 million Syrians, fleeing the civil war that has raged in their country since 2011. In comparison, Lebanon’s total population is around 6 million people. The country is also home to a historic community of Palestinian refugees, who arrived expelled by Israel.
The situation echoes, in a way, the end of the 19th century, when tens of thousands of Lebanese left their homes and moved to Brazil, forming one of the largest Arab diasporas in the world. In those days, however, the Lebanese traveled in steamboats, not in rickety boats. And they were looking for a better life, not just the mere possibility of surviving.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
